


While You Were "Sleeping"

by LotusFlair



Series: Magnus Season 5 Codas [3]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Apocalypse Roadtrip, Coda, Coma Tales, Gen, Idiots in Love, Jealous Martin is Adorable, Little bit of angst, M/M, Mosty romance, Post-MAG 168
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:00:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24297742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LotusFlair/pseuds/LotusFlair
Summary: Martin sat by Jon's bedside for weeks, but it's Oliver Banks who woke him up. After receiving his coroner's report at the Corpse Roots, Jon checks in with Martin about how he coped when Jon was in a coma for six months.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Series: Magnus Season 5 Codas [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763854
Comments: 36
Kudos: 233





	While You Were "Sleeping"

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can find me @darling_sammy on Twitter or visit my website, POP Archives, @ www.pop-archives.com

When Jon found Martin nestled in a hollow of seemingly normal tree roots, he immediately wrapped his arms around him from the back, resting his cheek against the soft curls atop Martin's head. The response was immediate as Martin gripped his arms and squeezed tightly. He let out a sigh of relief, which he did every time Jon returned from his venting sessions. They stayed like that for a few minutes, relaxing in each other's company.

"You're not going to smite him, are you?" Martin finally asked.

"No," Jon said, incapable of hiding the amusement in his voice, "no I'm not."

Martin let out a sigh that was as loud as it was long. "I figured."

"It's just as well. We'd have to venture into the heart of the Corpse Roots to find him," Jon said. He settled by Martin's side, leaning into him more for comfort than for support. "He's given us free reign of the place, but I'm not exactly keen to go smiting for sport...unlike some people I know."

He nudged Martin playfully and Martin obliged him with a nudge back. "Fine. It's fine. I suppose being all-powerful also means knowing when to use your power responsibly."

"How magnanimous of you," Jon said.

"Hmm...and I'm sure Oliver has his positive aspects," Martin mused. "Probably saved some orphans from a burning building, or something."

"Doubtful," Jon said. Martin looked at him oddly. "He's an Avatar of Death and those associated with the End don't exactly like to _get involved_. A burning building full of orphans is no different than a regular building full of orphans. They all end up at the same destination eventually."

"Well that's bleak," Martin said.

"I know," Jon agreed, "which is why it'd never work between myself and Oliver..."

"What?!" Martin exclaimed, the shock and sudden red tinge of his face was enough to send Jon into a fit of laughter. Martin was quick to catch on, but he gave Jon a much more forceful shove as the Archivist caught his breath. "That's not funny, Jon!"

"Sure. Of course," Jon said, though his tone made Martin stare at him with a flat, disbelieving gaze. Jon countered with an amused, but sincere look. "But you have to admit, personality-wise, it's not a good match. Bleak on bleak can't last. It'd be dull and dreary and so much more _cursing of inescapable flesh prisons_! Not exactly the type of person you'd want to be navigating the Apocalypse with for days without a beginning or an end."

"Might get a bit tiring," Martin conceded. "You'd have to force yourself into the role of optimist out of necessity."

"And we both know how horrible I am at that," Jon said. He leaned against Martin again, melting into the familiar warmth of the man he loved. "No, I think you're much better for me, Martin. You...fit. You...well, you get me, I suppose."

"Thought I already _got_ you," Martin said, playfully.

Jon rolled his eyes. "Yes, Martin."

"Because you love me."

"Yes, Martin."

"And I'm your reason."

"Yes, Martin."

"And you'll smite Oliver Banks--"

"No, Martin."

"Worth a shot!" Martin pulled him closer, leaning in for a kiss, which turned into a much longer and more intense make-out session than either of them were prepared for. It was harder to act upon their less than innocent means of showing affection. The Eye was always watching and neither of them wanted to do anything for Jonah Magnus' entertainment. But sometimes there was a need to go beyond holding hands and hugging. Sometimes you needed to stick your tongue down the man you love's throat and feel the warmth of his skin by shoving your hands under a couple layers of clothing.

When they finally broke apart, breathless and needy for more, Jon pressed their foreheads together and held Martin's face in his hands. He looked at him, lovingly, and Martin was surprised to find tears in Jon's eyes.

"If it's any consolation, _you_ were the one I wanted to see most when I woke up," Jon said. "I don't care that Oliver's statement was the catalyst. I didn't really care that Georgie and Basira were in the room. I just - I wanted to see you so badly, Martin."

"Jon..."

"The last thing I remember before the coma was...Tim was talking to me, but the words were so jumbled because of Nikola," Jon said. "I know we didn't have time to patch things up, but I remember feeling proud of him. And then I felt...regret because I knew, deep down, that I wouldn't see you again. I knew I was going to die and we'd never get a chance to talk. And when I woke up..."

"I wasn't there," Martin said, sullenly. "I left you."

"But you didn't. Not really," Jon said. "Even when you were so deep in the Lonely I could barely see you past the fog...you were still there. You were still looking out for me."

"I really thought you were gone, ya know?" Martin said. Jon nodded. "I sat by your bedside for so long. I figured if I could hold out a little longer, if I could be a guide...or an anchor to you...then you'd come back. You'd wake up and we could...get lunch...see a movie...stop a ritual or two. Ya know, normal stuff couples do."

Jon snorted. "You've seen too many movies, Martin."

"Yeah, I know. It was a nice idea, though," Martin said. "Wasn't long before the Flesh attack beat the romanticism out of me. Sent me running to Peter like an idiot."

"You did what you thought was right," Jon said. They'd been over it before, another conversation in which they one of them took the blame for the state of the world. But while Jon burdened himself with the act of destruction, Martin's favored argument was his role as an unknowing facilitator of an event that could have been prevented. Both were eager to let the other know they weren't to blame and both were much harsher when it came to forgiving themselves.

"The last time I visited you before I joined with Peter...I was pleading with you to wake up," Martin said. "I thought if - if I could get a sign or a reaction out of you, then I could reject his deal. It didn't even have to be a big one either. Finger twitch, lip curl, hell a lock of hair out of place and I would've called it all off. But you didn't and I...I was out of hope to give you. Probably why I took to the Lonely so well."

"We're all guilty of giving into despair every once and a while," Jon said, knowingly. Martin gave a soft chuckle, nodding in agreement. "But while we're on the subject...what exactly did you do while you were sitting at my bedside?"

"You mean you don't Know?" Martin asked. There was no accusation in his tone, just genuine curiosity.

"I guess I could have at some point when I was figuring out my abilities," Jon said. "Basira told me the basics of who was in and out of the room, but...it was too painful to Know. I didn't want to See what I'd put you through and it was easier to stay ignorant."

Martin pulled him closer again, a protective and loving arm around his shoulders that Jon melted into easily.

"Well I hate to break it to you, Jon, but I was concocting romantic fantasies mostly," he said. Jon nudged him with his elbow this time to which Martin feigned the injury caused by Jon's severely pointed bones. "Um, I talked a lot. Updated you on what was happening in the archives. I read to you as well."

"What did you read?"

"I got some books from your flat. Tried to read things you liked. I didn't realize you were so into biographies," Martin said. "Then I brought in some of my books. Read things you probably wouldn't like. Lots of poetry. I figured I could either draw you into the open or annoy you enough to wake up."

Jon considered the logic of Martin's plan, humming in affirmation. "Under any other circumstances, that might've worked."

"I brought a box of statements one day," Martin said, an edge of laughter in his voice. "The nurses could barely speak when I barged into the room with a banker's box of paper and three tape recorders."

Jon laughed. "They must've thought you'd lost it."

"I looked like a mad man, no doubt," Martin said. He paused for a moment, caught up in his own thoughts before continuing. "They were kind, though. Kept calling you my boyfriend and I didn't have the heart to correct them. Didn't really want to correct them, if I'm being honest."

"Not a romantic fantasy anymore though," Jon said. He felt his cheeks burning when Martin looked down and smiled so fondly. It was still hard to believe that they were together. The Apocalypse be damned, the real fear was always in losing Martin.

"Well...you're not exactly chomping at the bit to smite in my name," Martin teased. "I don't want to say chivalry is dead, per se, but..."

"Alright, Brave Sir Martin, you've had your fun," Jon said. They stood again and both could see only so far into the forest that was made up of the corpse roots. Oliver Banks was in there, somewhere, waiting for the inevitable no matter how long it took for the world to collapse in on itself. Jon could feel his presence, but he had no desire to look any further. All he could do was send a silent thank you into the domain for Oliver to receive. The Avatar of Death had given him the choice to wake up, but, more importantly, he'd made it possible for Jon and Martin to find each other again. Despite the fact that the Web had requested Oliver's assistance in waking him, the man had earned the right to live a bit longer.

"Shall we?" Martin said, taking Jon's hand.

"Lead the way." 


End file.
